Workman installing roofing or flooring on the beam structure of a construction project run great risk of injury in falls from the beam structure. The risk of injury can be substantially reduced by attaching a strong safety line, or cable, to a stationary part of the structure, such as a beam.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,217,833 granted Nov. 16, 1965 to D. W. Smith for "Safety Device" discloses a system for connecting the belt of a workman to a metal I-beam with a rigid elongated metal bar. The attachment to the I-beam slides along the beam to permit the workman to move back and forth on the beam. The system disclosed, however, virtually precludes any side to side movement of the workman thereby limiting his activities.
Worker safety considerations prompted at least two other patented inventions. A perimeter guard rail post which can be clamped on the edge of a concrete slab is the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 3,747,895 granted Jul. 24, 1973 to W. E. Warren for "Guard Rail Post." And U.S. Pat. No. 3,938,619 granted Feb. 17, 1976 to K. Kurabayaski for "Stanchion" discloses a handrail supporting post that is adapted to be clamped onto an I-beam. Both of these patents disclose apparatus which is fairly complex and expensive to produce.
There continues to be a need for a reliable, easily fabricated adjustable device for attaching a worker safety line to a beam.